Vapor generating and recovering apparatus

ABSTRACT

A vapor generating and recovering apparatus for separating one component from a second component of a liquid solution and recovering the first component including at least one chamber for generating vapor from the liquid solution and recovering the vapor in a liquid form, the vapor generating portion of the chamber being in heat emitting relation with a heat emitting means and the vapor recovering portion chamber being in heat absorbing relation with a heat absorbing means. A preferred system for providing heat to the vapor generating portion of the chamber and removing heat from the vapor recovering portion of the chamber is a refrigerating system which includes condensing coils and evaporating coils in heat transfer relation with the vapor generating and vapor recovery chamber.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a vapor generating and recovering apparatusfor separating one component from a second component of a liquidsolution and more particularly relates to an apparatus for recoveringand purifying chemicals in a vapor generating device.

In the present state of the art, vapor generating and recovering devicesfor separating one component from a second component of a liquidsolution are utilized in many different areas. For example, in thecleaning of objects such as metallic tools, plastic parts, and the like,hot, boiling solvents have been utilized to remove undesirableparticulate matter from these tools, parts, and the like by immersingthe soiled object into the hot, boiling solvent. In bringing the solventto a boiling temperature, a solvent vapor zone is created above theboiling solvent solution in the tank or chamber in which theaforementioned objects are placed for cleaning. The vaporized solvent isthen subjected to cooling or condensing means and is recovered.Generally, the chamber or tank from which the solvent is vaporized isfiltered or processed by other means to remove the contaminantstherefrom and then reused.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has now been found that the vapor generating and recovering apparatusfor separating one component from a second component of a liquidsolution in the cleaning of objects, the cleaning can be accomplished bythe utilization of a variable heat system which utilizes substantiallyall of the energy supplied to a refrigeration system with little or nowaste. In this apparatus, a refrigerant compressor is utilized tocompress a refrigerant gas and to discharge refrigerant at a super heatcondition of high temperature and pressure which is then disposedthrough a primary condenser to boil a liquid solvent, the liquid solventgenerally being a low molecular weight halogenated hydrocarbon, such as,for example, trichloromonofluoromethane, methylene chloride,trifluoroethane and the like. This refrigerant condenser coil isdisposed for communicating in heat exchange relation with the cleaningor vaporizing compartment of a vapor generating and recoveringapparatus. In the refrigeration condenser section hot gases arecondensed to a liquid at relatively high pressures and temperatureswherein the vapor in the cleaning portion of the apparatus utilizedtherein is evaporating or boiling to create a vapor zone in a givencleaning device. Since more energy is available to this system as heatdue to the motor input energy and the motor inefficiencies of therefrigeration system it must be removed. Some of this heat is removed byradiant energy loss, by conduction of heat through the apparatus, and byheat absorbed by the parts being processed. There are occasions wherethese techniques of heat rejection are not sufficient to totally balancethe system. This is accomplished in this system by the use of acomplementary condenser utilized to remove this excess heat. Thiscomplementary condenser may be placed before the main condenser, afterthe main condenser or in parallel with the main condenser depending onthe given application. The complementary condenser dissipates heatenergy either by an externally cooled water or air device. The mechanismof cooling is done automatically by thermostatic or pressure controldevice. The pressure device generally monitors the heat pressure andthereby automatically adjusts the cooling mechanism. The thermostaticcontrol device senses the vapor level in the apparatus in such a mannerthat ambient conditions do not effect its operation. In the case of anair cooled complementary condenser the thermostatic sensor varies thefan speed as the vapor sensitizes the device. In the case of a watercooled complementary condenser the flow of water is adjustedautomatically to remove only the unused energy by again sensing thevapor temperature in a manner in which the ambient temperature will noteffect the device. The water control valve will normally be located onthe output line of the condenser but can also be placed on the inputline. The air cooled complementary condenser should also be located insuch a manner that ambient conditions and a conventional cooling of thecompressor body do not remove excessive amounts of heat. In general,this unit is located underneath the shelf mounting the refrigerationcompressor.

When more than one chamber is utilized for separating soils, the maincondenser may either be placed in series or in parallel with otherchambers to provide heat emitting requirements. The solution in otherchambers may boil or be heated below the boiling point. In some casesthe orientation of this condenser coil will be important to the properutilization of solvent. The vertical orientation of the condenser on thefar wall of the chamber will cause boiling at the far wall to be createdin a rolling fashion on the top of this boiling sump. The solvent willroll across the top in a skimming manner. This will cause floating soilsto be pushed to the far side wall. This chamber is also so designed tocontain a tapered wall so that the material will be directed to a cornerof such a chamber and direct the floating soil out an overflow hole orover a weir into another chamber for appropriate disposition ofmaterial. This material may either go to a conventional water separatoror sub-cooling of the liquid may be employed or to a dirty solventrecovery chamber.

The condensed liquid refrigerant then passes through an expansion valvewhereby the temperature and pressure are dropped and the refrigerantliquid passes into the evaporator which is utilized in the recoveryportion of the apparatus. In the evaporator portion of the refrigerationsystem where the cold liquid refrigerant evaporates to a gas, theevaporator becomes the condenser for the solvent saturated vapor. In theevaporator part of the variable heat system there are possibly severaladditional areas where cooling may be employed to produce maximumoperating efficiency. One area employs an expansion valve and anexpansion pressure regulator valve to control the flow and pressure ofrefrigerant to a sub-cooling coil in the water separator to control thecooling capacity within the water separator. The main purpose of thisunit is to sub-cool the liquid sufficiently to control the temperaturein the cool liquid sump of the vapor recovery portion of the apparatusand to improve water separation. Another expansion valve and evaporatorpressure regulator may be utilized to control refrigerant flow to theconvection control coil on the apparatus to eliminate the convection ofsolvent vapor up the side walls of the solvent recovery apparatus.Preferably a peripheral coil is wrapped around the outer portion of theapparatus several inches above the saturated vapor line to cool themetal and provide a temperature barrier. The ability to raise thepressure and temperature in this evaporator line allows the temperatureto be above the atmospheric dew point and minimize the introduction ofcondensed water to the apparatus. Additional evaporators may be employedfor temperature control to liquid chambers in the above apparatus asrequired in a similar manner to those previously described. The mainevaporator not only performs the condensing of solvent but also providesa cool ambient for the thermostatic device used for the vapor levelcontrol system. The thermostatic device used to activate thecomplementary condensing system described above is generally placedwithin the main evaporator so that ambient conditions will not effectits operation. In addition, a vapor level safety device is alsocontained in this area so that it also will not be influenced byatmospheric conditions. The solvent recovery chamber which contains themain evaporator also provides for a control of vapor movement by theevaporator's low temperature and by the pressure drop experienced withinthis chamber that a change of phase of vapor to liquid. This techniqueminimizes the use of solvent in such a device. The refrigerant is thenreturned to the compressor as a low pressure low temperature superheated gas to complete the refrigeration cycle.

One of the most unique portions of this system is the ability for thisdevice to start without the use of supplementary heat. This isaccomplished with the use of a by-pass system to allow the compressorproper conditions to continue operation without ideal thermodynamicconditions. The refrigeration system initially starts off with only theheat of compression supplied by motor energy. Additional heat is quicklyobtained from the evaporator by its ability to operate at lowertemperatures during start-up. In this manner heat is drawn from theatmosphere and dissipated as heat energy in the condenser. Theevaporator temperature is limited by the pressure setting on the by-passvalve. Once the system is in complete balance and the vapor is fullycondensing on the evaporator then the refrigeration system is operatingeffectively and efficiently. During this portion of the operation theby-passing arrangement is not in operation. If for some reason duringthe operation the vapor should fall below the condensing area then theby-pass system will automatically come into operation and allow thesystem to continue operating. This is all accomplished by pressuredifferentials in both the evaporator and condenser portions of thesystem. The use of a receiver and a suction accumulator are generallynecessary for the proper operation of the by-passing system. Asindicated previously, once the vapor has been established then thesystem automatically adjusts itself for refrigerating effect andbalances the heat and cooling cycles within the system. It should alsobe noted that the refrigeration compressor operates in this systemcontinuously thereby providing reliability to this mechanical portion ofthe apparatus.

It has been found also that with the utilization of the aforementionedtype system the principals of latent energy have been incorporated. Thismeans that the refrigerant boils in the evaporator which in turncondenses the solvent and the refrigerant liquifies in the condenserwhile the solvent-soil mixture boils, the solvent being vaporizedtherefrom. Uniform temperature is experienced throughout these portionsof the system to provide for better economics in the recovery ofsolvents. In addition, the temperature of the refrigeration condenserunit are of reasonably low temperature and are not sufficient todecompose the solvent utilized. This provides a degree of safetyexperienced from this apparatus.

In preferred utilization of the vapor generating and recovery devices ofthe present invention, specifically in relation to a vapor cleaningdevice, a more fully described apparatus is hereinafter discussed.

Various other features of the present invention will also become obviousto those skilled in the art upon reading the disclosure set forthhereinafter.

More particularly, in one preferred embodiment, the present inventionprovides a vapor generating and recovering apparatus for separating andrecovering one component from a second component of a liquid solutioncomprising: a housing including at least one chamber therein forvaporizing a first component from a liquid solution containing at leasttwo components therein and recovering the vapor in the form of a liquid;heat emitting means disposed in heat emitting relation with the chamber;heat absorbing means disposed around the periphery of the housing at apreselected distance above the chamber; and, a variable heat systemincluding the heat emitting means and the heat absorbing means, thesystem including a refrigerant compressor for compressing a refrigerant,the compressor being in fluid communication on its discharge side withthe heat emitting means, the heat emitting means including coils thereinwhereby the compressed refrigerant is condensed upon heat exchangerelation with the liquid in the chamber, the heat emitting means beingin fluid communication with a by-pass system and the heat absorbingmeans, the by-pass system and the heat absorbing means being inparallel, the by-pass system and the heat absorbing means being in fluidcommunication with the suction side of the compressor, the by-passsystem being operable in response to selected operating conditions ofrefrigerant discharging from the heat absorbing means.

In another preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a vaporgenerating and recovering apparatus comprising: a housing including atleast one chamber therein for vaporizing a first component from a liquidsolution containing at least two components therein and recovering thevapor in the form of a liquid; heat emitting means disposing in heatemitting relation with the chamber, the heat emitting means beingdisposed along one vertically extending side wall of the chamber; thechamber having an opposed side wall non-parallel to the verticallyextending side wall with a third wall disposed therebetween, the thirdwall extending the maximum distance between the side walls; a fluid flowoutlet disposed at a preselected vertical position substantially at thejuncture of the third wall with the opposed side wall; a heat absorbingmeans disposed around the periphery of the housing at a preselecteddistance above the chamber, the heat absorbing means condensing vaporevolving from the chamber; means to provide heat to the heat emittingmeans; and, means to absorb heat from the heat absorbing means.

It is to be understood that the description of the examples of thepresent invention given hereinafter are not by way of limitation andvarious modifications within the scope of the present invention willoccur to those skilled in the art upon reading the disclosure set forthhereinafter.

Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially broken away, of a vapor cleaningapparatus utilizing a variable heat system of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, partially cut-away of one preferred vaporgenerating chamber of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a variable heat system and the vaporcleaning apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing one modification of the variableheat system of FIG. 3; and,

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a second modification of the variableheat system of FIG. 3.

In FIG. 1, a housing 1 includes two chambers therein, one for vaporizingone component of a two component system and the other for condensing thevapor and recovering the same as a liquid. The first or vaporizingchamber includes a plurality of sub-chambers 3, 5, and 7 and thecondensing and recovering chamber is identified by the numeral 9. Thesechambers or sub-chambers are provided therein for the cleaning ofobjects, specifically those containing greasy substances thereon whichmay be removed by utilizing a composition containing a solvent. Thesub-chamber or chamber 3 includes a heating coil 11 therein disposedalong wall 4 which provides heat to a solution which is normallydisposed within the chamber 3, the solution containing a vaporizablesolvent therein. The heating coil 11 is preferably a condensing coil ina variable heat system to be discussed hereinafter, but may be a coilsupplied with heat from other known sources. The coil 11 providessufficient heat to the chamber 3 to boil and vaporize the solventtherein, the boiling action providing the cleaning power for the solventsolution. Chamber 3 is also provided with a wall 13 which is tapered inrelation to the back wall 15. It has been found that by attaching theheating coil 11 to or adjacent to the wall 4, a temperature differentialis created across the chamber 3, the temperature differential causingthe solution to move toward the wall 13. By constructing the opposedwall 13 in a non-parallel relationship with wall 4, the solution movesto the corner furtherest from wall 4, in this example, the corner 14formed by the walls 13 and 15. Thus, all of the low density particleswhich are removed from the objects being cleaned float on or neat thetop of the heated solution and migrate rapidly to the corner 14. Anaperture 16 is provided at or adjacent to the corner 14 at a preselectedposition, the position being disposed for alignment with the solutionlevel to be maintained in the chamber 3. A conduit 17 is in fluidcommunication with the aperture 16 at one end and a liquid or waterseparator 90 wherein the water or other liquids lighter in density thanthe solvent are removed therefrom. The separator 90 includes a conduit91 therein which is disposed at a preselected height slightly below theheight of the incoming conduit 17 to remove by gravity the lower densityliquid on the top to a drain (not shown). A conduit 92 is also providedwith a downwardly extending portion 93 extending to a preselectedposition above the bottom of the separator to remove the solventtherefrom. The opposed end of the conduit 92 is in fluid communicationwith an aperture 18 in the wall of chamber 7. Thus, the top portion ofthe solution in chamber 3 containing the floating dirty particlesthereon are removed by the conduit 17 through separator 90 andtransferred by gravity through conduit 91 to a drain with the heaviersolvent being transferred for reuse to chamber 7.

Construction of the non-parallel wall 13 in chamber 3 may be either in ahorizontal or vertical direction as well as other geometricconfigurations, the only requirement being that aperture 16 in flowthrough communication with conduit 17 is disposed at or adjacent to thejuncture of the walls which is the maximum distance from the coil 11.

It is further noted that in the migration of the boiling solution awayfrom the heating coil 11, the solution moves in a rolling motion. Thus,a baffle plate 20 is provided at the corner 14 at a position apreselected distance below the aperture 16 thereby preventing therolling action of the boiling solution at the discharge. This preventslow density particles from rolling and building up at the dischargeaperture 16 and thereby forces the particles out of the chamber throughaperture 16.

At the bottom of the chamber 3, a drain line 19 is provided with a valve21 therein for periodically draining the chamber 3.

There may also be provided in the bottom of the chamber 3 an additionalheat emitting device 95 which is generally used at the start-up of theheating cycle to decrease the heat-up time for bringing the apparatus tooperating temperatures.

In chamber 5 a second heating coil 23 is provided to heat up thesolution containing the solvent, the heat generally required being thatnecessary to heat the solution containing the solvent to the requiredtemperature sufficient to perform the intended function which may beboiling the solvent contained therein. The heating coil 23 is generallya condensing coil in the variable heat system which will be discussedhereinafter, but may be a heating coil or element from any other knownsource.

Chamber 5 is also provided with a sonic vibrating means exemplified asultrasonic transducer 25, ultrasonic transducer 25 being activated inresponse to an ultrasonic generator (not shown). The ultrasonictransducer 25 provides ultrasonic vibrations which initiates cavitationin the boiling solvent to remove hard to clean parts from the objects tobe cleaned. Generally, chamber 5 is used in the second step in acleaning process where in the easy to remove dirt or soil is removed inthe first step by immersion of the object to be cleaned into chamber 3.

Chamber 5 is further provided with a recirculation system forcontinually recycling the solution in the chamber and removingparticulates therefrom, the system including a pump 27 in fluidcommunication with a filter 29. Filter 29 is provided to remove theinsoluble particulate matter from the solution, returning the filteredsolution by way of conduit 30 to the top of the chamber through thespray header 31, spray header 31 being provided with a plurality ofspray apertures 32 therein. This filtered solution is resupplied tochamber 5 in a skimming manner from conduit 30 to cause floating soilsto be pushed over the weir or wall 4. Also disposed along the top of thechamber 5 is a conduit 33 which extends over and into chamber 9, conduit33 communicating with a downwardly extending conduit 35. Conduit 35includes an inlet therein spaced a preselected distance above the bottomof the chamber 9 whereby dry fresh distillate to the chamber 5 issupplied during operation.

The wall 4 which is disposed between chambers 3 and 5 extends in avertical position, the top of the wall 4 being below opposed walls 13and 8, wall 8 being disposed between chambers 5 and 7. Wall 4 is of apreselected height, the height being the solution level which is to bemaintained in chamber 5. In operation, solution containing dirtymaterials therein is continually overflowing chamber 5 into chamber 3 asthe heating coil 23 which is disposed along the wall 8 provides thedriving force for not only vaporizing the solution in chamber 5, butalso drives the boiling liquid in a direction toward wall 4.

Also disposed along the wall 4 is a cooling coil 24, cooling coil 24being generally an expansion coil in the variable heat system which willbe discussed hereinafter, but may be a cooling coil receiving coolingmedia from another known source. Cooling coil 24 is utilized when it isdesired to operate the chamber at a temperature below the solventvaporizing temperature or to protect the device against over heating. Atemperature sensing element 26 is disposed adjacent to the coils 23 and24 to actuate cooling or heating means in response to a preselectedtemperature condition.

Chamber 7 which receives the overflow containing the chemical solutionand particulate matter floating on or near the top of the solution inchamber 3 is provided with a heating coil 37 which is also one of thecondensing coils of the variable heat system to be discussedhereinafter, coil 37 being disposed along the bottom of the chamber 7.The solution maintained in chamber 7 is generally heated to andmaintained at a temperature equal to or above the vaporizing temperatureof the solvent which is in the solution chamber 7 thereby boiling andvaporizing the solvent therefrom. This chamber is also used for a thirdstep in the cleaning process in a cleaning device, primarily the rinsingby condensation of the object which has been cleaned.

Also provided in chamber 7 is a discharge conduit 39 for periodiccleaning and draining of this chamber.

Chamber 9 which is the vapor recovering chamber for the solvent cleaningapparatus of the present invention includes a cooling coil 41 which isan evaporating coil in the variable heat device to be discussedhereinafter wherein the solution in this chamber is maintained at asubstantially low temperature, the temperature being low enough tomaintain the solvent in a liquid solution. Disposed in the upper portionof the chamber 9 is a second cooling coil or vapor condensing coil 43which in the variable heat system is an evaporating coil in parallelwith the coil 41. The cooling coil 43 being an evaporating coil in thevariable heat system absorbs heat from the vapors evolving from chambers3, 5, and 7 thereby condensing the solvents and collecting the condensedsolvents in the chamber 9. Disposed within the vapor condensing coil 43is a vapor control probe 45 which is a temperature sensing device whichactuates a relay or valve (not shown), the relay or valve in turnactuating a complementary condenser 53, to be discussed hereinafter,thereby maintaining a temperature in the zone around the coil 43 at apreselected temperature. The position of probe 45 is provided to sensean artificial ambient temperature in the zone around the coil 43 therebymaintaining coil 43 in a zone or area below actual ambient temperature.This unique feature of controlling the temperature of the area abovechamber 9 enables efficient utilization of the variable heat system andalso provides efficient control for the condensing of the condensingsolvent.

Also disposed in fluid communication with chamber 9 is a conduit 96,conduit 96 being disposed at a preselected level within the chamber 9 toseparate water from the heavier density solvent. Conduit 96 at itsopposed end is generally in flow communication with a drain (not shown).

In fluid communication with the bottom of the chamber 9 is a conduit 47,conduit 47 being in fluid communication at its opposed end with a pump49. Conduit 47 in combination with pump 49 provides the means forremoving the solvent solution from the chamber 9 and transferring thesolution by means, such as a hose 48, to any of the chambers 3, 5, or 7in order to provide additional solution to the aforementioned chambers.Hose 48 may also be in fluid communication with a fluid source (notshown), in order to provide a fluid seal of the solvents in the chambersduring shutdown. The fluid utilized is one that has a low degree ofvaporization at ambient temperature and pressure and is lighter indensity than the solvent, for example, water.

Another thermostatic sensing device 54 is placed within coil 43 abovesensor 45 to detect a rising vapor to an unsafe level. This device 54 isin electrical communication with the power source for the refrigerationunit to deactivate the refrigeration unit at a preselected temperature.This false ambient temperature detection enables the cleaning device tooperate without the influence of ambient temperature.

Around the outer periphery of the housing 1 and at a preselecteddistance above the chambers 3, 5, 7, and 9 is a cooling coil 51, coolingcoil 51 being disposed around the outer periphery of the housing 1enables the inner wall surfaces of the chambers to be left in asubstantially smooth condition. The cooling coil 51 is an evaporatingcoil in the variable heat system and is in parallel with theaforementioned evaporating coils 41 and 43. The cooling coil 51 isprovided to maintain a preselected temperature in the housing below thevaporizing temperature of the solvent thereby preventing the vaporizedsolvent from escaping by convection from the housing. The coil 51 incombination with the cooling coils 43 and 41 adjacent to and in chamber9, respectively, forces the condensed vapors to move in a directionalong the housing from chambers 3, 5, and 7 and into the chamber 9.Since the temperature adjacent to and disposed within chamber 9 ismaintained at a level below the vaporizing temperature of the solventand a pressure drop exists by changing phase from vapor to liquid thenthe solvent condenses and precipitates into chamber 9 as discussedpreviously. Coil 51 is normally operated at a temperature above theatmospheric dew point to minimize the introduction of free water intothe cleaning apparatus.

In the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, the cooling coil 51in combination with weir or wall 55, wall 55 being disposed betweenchambers 7 and 9, define the zone between what is referred to as a vaporzone and a freeboard zone in the cleaning apparatus, the vapor zonebeing the zone between the top of the chambers 3, 5, and 7 and thecooling coil 51 with the freeboard zone being the area above the vaporzone to the top of the cleaning apparatus.

Also, provided within the housing 1 is a complementary condenser 53which is utilized to remove excess heat from the system. Thiscomplementary condenser 53 is air cooled, as shown, and is actuated inresponse to the sensing device 45 in the vapor zone of chamber 9,condenser 53 being actuated to operate when the temperature of the vaporzone of chamber 9 exceeds a preselected temperature. It is also realizedthat the operation of the complementary condenser 53 may be by apressure sensing device operated from either the high or low pressurerefrigerant.

Even further included in housing 1 is a refrigerant compressor 2 whichis utilized to compress the refrigerant in the variable heat system ofthe present invention.

It is realized that the appropriate valving and temperature sensingdevices for the variable heat system utilized in the apparatus of FIG. 1are not shown. However, the exact location of these devices as well astheir functions are clearly discussed hereinafter so that one skilled inthe art can practice the present invention. Also, it is preferred thatthe compressor 2 and the complementary condenser 53 be in differentplanes so that heat is not taken away from the system during operation.In FIG. 1, condenser 53 is mounted underneath the compressor 2.

In the operation of the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, asolution containing a solvent is maintained in chambers 3, 5, and 7wherein the chambers by means of coils 11, 23, and 37, respectively,maintain a temperature of the solution in these chambers above thevaporizing temperature of the solvent in the solution. Objects which areto be cleaned or degreased are immersed firstly into the solution withinthe chamber 3 whereby the primary cleaning of the object is accomplishedby the dissolution utilizing the heated solvent therein. The objects arethen removed from the chamber 3 and inserted into the heated solventsolution in chamber 5 which also includes the ultrasonic transducer 25therein which not only removes and dissolves the particles remaining onthe objects by dissolution, but the ultrasonic transducer 25 providesfor pressure waves which removes other particles therefrom by thecavitation action produced by the waves. The objects to be cleaned arethen removed and rinsed by submerging the objects in the vapor phase ofchamber 7 which also contains the heated solution containing thesolvent.

In FIG. 2, chamber 60 including two sub-chambers 62 and 64, is shown toillustrate another preferred geometric configuration of a juncture of aside wall 66 with a back wall 68 at a corner 70 the maximum distancefrom the opposed side wall 72 which includes heating coil 74 thereon.Back wall 68 is constructed in two sections, one section 67 being inperpendicular relation with side wall 72 and parallel to a front wall(not shown) with the second section 69 being disposed between andconnecting section 67 with side wall 66, side wall 66 being nonparallelin relation to opposed side wall 72. The corner 70 is formed by thejoining of section 69 with side wall 66. A flow through aperture 78 isdisposed within wall section 69 at a preselected position therein, theposition being adjacent to corner 70 and vertically located at thesolution level to be maintained in the sub-chamber 62. A conduit 80 isin fluid flow communication with the aperture 78 to remove the overflowfrom the chamber 62 generated by the rolling action of the solutioncaused by boiling and the temperature gradient across the chamber setforth by the heat form coil 74 on opposed side wall 72.

In FIG. 3, a preferred variable heat system utilized in the apparatus ofFIG. 1 is shown schematically. In the Figure, a compressor 102, of thetype used in refrigerating systems, compresses a suitable gaseousrefrigerant which flows to the compressor in a refrigerant sectionconduit 104. Compressor 102 compresses the suitable gaseous refrigerant,which may be freon-22 or the like, to a preselected pressure, and thepressurized hot refrigerant gas flows from the compressor throughconduit 106 to a conventional condenser 108 which is generally disposedwithin a vaporizing chamber 110, the refrigerant being condensed thereinand upon condensing vaporizes a solvent which is disposed within chamber110.

In some devices, it is desired to utilize a plurality of vaporizingchambers and in this instance a plurality of condensing units 112 and114 are utilized and disposed within vaporizing chambers or sub-chambers111 and 113, respectively. It is noted that in order to maintain aconstant pressure drop across the parallel condensers 112 and 114,pressure regulating valves 116 and 118 are provided to provide theadditional pressure drop necessary in order to maintain the constantpressure drop. Thus, the pressure drop across the condensers 108, 112and 114 are substantially equal.

Also provided downstream of the parallel condensers 108, 112 and 114 isa complementary condenser 120, complementary condenser 120 beingutilized to remove excess heat from the boiling system. Complementarycondenser 120 is operable in response to a temperature sensing device122 disposed within one of the chambers, such as chamber 140. It is alsorealized that the condenser 120 may be operated by other temperature orpressure sensing devices, such as a pressure sensing device actuated inresponse to preselected pressures on the suction or discharge side ofthe compressor 102. As shown in FIG. 3 the complementary condenser 120is disposed within a tank 124 containing a liquid, usually water,wherein the control of the water flow rate is determined by the valve126 on the discharge side of the tank 124, the valve being operated inresponse to a preselected operating temperature of temperature sensingdevice 122.

The condensed or pressurized liquid refrigerant then flows throughconduit 128 to a conventional liquid refrigerant receiver 130. From theliquid refrigerant receiver 130, the refrigerant flows by way of conduit132 through a dryer 134, a moisture indicator 169, then through aplurality of thermoexpansion valves and direct expansion evaporatingcoils in parallel, each thermoexpansion valve being in series with anevaporating coil. Three evaporating coils 138, 142, and 144 withthermoexpansion valves 136, 146, and 148, respectively, are shown inFIG. 3. The evaporating coil 138 is disposed within a chamber 140 whichis utilized for the recovery of the condensed vapor which is generatedfrom tanks 110, 111, and 113, evaporating coil 138 being a sub-coolingcoil to sub-cool the liquid in the chamber 140 sufficiently to controlthe temperature of the liquid thereby improving the separation of waterfrom the recovered condensed vapor. Evaporating coil 142 is provided forcondensing the vapors generated from tanks 110, 111, 113 and is disposedat a preselected distance above chamber 140 wherein the vapors coming incontact therewith condense and are recovered within chamber 140.Evaporating coil 144 is a peripheral coil wrapped around the outerportion of the chambers 110, 111, and 113 at a preselected positionabove the chambers in order to cool the upper portions of the chambersand provide a temperature barrier. The ability to raise the pressure andtemperature in this evaporator line allows the temperature to be abovethe atmospheric dew point and minimize the introduction of condensedwater to the apparatus. Downstream of the evaporators 138 and 142,control valves 150 and 152, respectively, are provided to maintainpressure drops across the coils 138 and 142 substantially equal to thepressure drop across the evaporator coil 144. The vaporized refrigerantfrom the coils 138, 142 and 144 then flows into an accumulator 154 priorto being compressed in the compressor 102.

A by-pass conduit 156 is also provided to by-pass a part of therefrigerant leaving the parallel condensers 108, 112 and 114 in responseto the temperature and pressure of the vaporized refrigerant leaving theparallel evaporators 138, 142 and 144. A temperature-pressure sensingdevice 158 is provided in the conduit line 160 to operate a solenoidvalve 162 in response to preselected temperature-pressure conditions ofthe refrigerant leaving the evaporating coils 138, 142 and 144. Amanually operated on-off valve 164 is also provided in line 156.

A by-pass conduit 166 is also provided around the compressor 102,by-pass conduit 166 being utilized in response to low and high pressuresdeveloped by the refrigerant system. This is utilized for safety to shutdown the system or during pump down operation.

Also provided in the variable heat system of FIG. 3 is a supplementaryheat exchange coil 168 which may be utilized for an additional supply ofheat to the refrigerant prior to entering the evaporating coil 138, ifsuch additional heat is needed. It is also realized that supplementaryheat exchange coil 168 may be inserted directly into the mainevaporating coil 138. Means for heating coil 168 may be from any knownsource.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the variable heat system of thepresent invention wherein the complementary condenser 120 is disposed inparallel with the condenser 108, complementary condenser 120 beingillustrated by the numeral 120b. The complementary condenser 120b isdisposed within the tank 124b, tank 124b containing a heat transferfluid therein, such as water. The regulation of the fluid through thetank 124b is by spring operated valve 126b which is actuated in responseto temperature sensing device 122.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention whereinthe supplementary condenser is on the upstream side and in series withthe main condenser 108. In this embodiment means for removing heat froma condenser coil 120c is a variable speed fan 123 operated by motor 125,actuation of motor 125 being in response to temperature sensing device122. In this embodiment, air flows across the condenser 120c isdetermined by the preselected operating conditions of the temperaturesensing device 122.

It will be realized that various changes may be made to the specificembodiments shown and described without departing from the principalsand spirit of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vapor generating and recovering apparatuscomprising:a housing including at least two chambers therein, a firstchamber for vaporizing a first component from a liquid solutioncontaining at least two components therein and a second chamber forrecovering said vapor in the form of a liquid; heat emitting meansdisposed in heat emitting relation with said first chamber, said heatemitting means being disposed along and contiguous to a verticallyextending first wall of said first chamber; said first chamber having anopposed vertically extending second wall non-parallel to said verticallyextending first wall with a third wall disposed therebetween andconnecting said first wall with said second wall, said third wallextending the maximum dimension between said first and second walls; afluid flow outlet disposed at a preselected vertical positionsubstantially at the juncture of said third wall with said second wall;a first heat absorbing means disposed around the periphery of thehousing at a preselected distance above said chambers; a second heatabsorbing means disposed in heat absorbing relation with said secondchamber, said second chamber being disposed to collect said condensedvapors; means to provide heat to said heat emitting means; and, means toabsorb heat from said heat absorbing means.
 2. The vapor generating andrecovering apparatus of claim 1 including a baffle member disposed belowand adjacent to said fluid flow outlet.
 3. The vapor generating andrecovering apparatus of claim 1 including two sub-chambers therein forvaporizing said first component from said liquid solution, saidsub-chambers being separated by a wall of a preselected height, saidheight defining the solution level in one of said sub-chambers.
 4. Thevapor generating and recovering apparatus of claim 1 including anultrasonic transducer in said first chamber.
 5. The vapor generating andrecovering apparatus of claim 3, said first sub-chamber having said heatemitting, means therein, said heat emitting means being disposed alongand contiguous to said first wall of preselected height disposed betweensaid first sub-chamber and said second sub-chamber, said secondsub-chamber including a second heat emitting means disposed along avertical wall opposed to said first wall.
 6. The vapor generating andrecovering apparatus of claim 5, said second sub-chamber including anultrasonic transducer disposed therein.
 7. The vapor generating andrecovering apparatus of claim 5 including a third head emitting device,said third heat emitting device being disposed along the bottom of saidfirst sub-chamber.
 8. The vapor generating and recovering apparatus ofclaim 5, said second sub-chamber including a conduit with an inlet andoutlet in fluid communication with said second subchamber, said conduitincluding means therein to recycle solution in said second sub-chamberand remove particulate matter therefrom during said recycling of saidsolution.
 9. The vapor generating and recovering apparatus of claim 3including a third sub-chamber therein with a third heat emitting meansdisposed therein, said third sub-chamber including a fluid flow inlet influid communication with said first chamber fluid flow outlet, saidfirst chamber fluid flow outlet being disposed in said first sub-chambertherein.
 10. The vapor generating and recovering apparatus of claim 1including a liquid separator therein, said liquid separator being influid communication with said fluid flow outlet of said first chamber,said liquid separator including means therein to separate a low densityliquid from said first component and returning said first component tosaid first chamber.
 11. The vapor generating and recovering apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein said first heat absorbing means is disposed around theouter periphery of said housing whereby said chambers includesubstantially smooth inner surfaces.
 12. The vapor generating andrecovering apparatus of claim 1 wherein said second chamber includesmeans therein for separating water from said recovered vapor in the formof a liquid.
 13. The vapor generating and recovering apparatus of claim12 including a third heat absorbing means in said second chamber. 14.The vapor generating and recovering apparatus of claim 5 including heatabsorbing means in said second sub-chamber.
 15. The vapor generating andrecovering apparatus of claim 1 wherein said vertically extending firstwall is of preselected height separating said first chamber from saidsecond chamber, said first wall defining the vapor height of saidvaporized first component.
 16. The vapor generating and recoveringapparatus of claim 1, said chamber including a temperature sensingdevice therein, said sensing device being in electrical communicationwith a power source to deactivate said heat emitting means at apreselected temperature.